


Notes from Dunwall

by 34c



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Flash Fic, Gen, General Trigger Warning, because general dark stuff, everyone's sad in dunwall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 17:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 4,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10168610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/34c/pseuds/34c
Summary: A variety of notes from around Dunwall. (Styled around the texts found throughout Dishonored.)





	1. Maid's Note

**Author's Note:**

> *dips toes in the dishonored fandom* hi  
> anyway this is my third time trying to upload this. heck. also these notes are based around the canon of dh1 only, so if anything here contradicts dh2 just know I haven't played it.

Venessa,

Avoid Lydia and Esma. Like the plague. Stay out of their way at all costs, and don't do anything they don't tell you to do. Don't come to them unless they ask you to, don't clean up rooms they don't ask you to, and don't do your usual sucking up to them for extra elixir like you normally do. At all. Under any circumstances.

Why? Because someone stole their stuff, including Waverly's. It's likely it was that masked man that trashed their party two days ago, so stay out of their way as they scream their spoiled heads off. You'll be thankful you did.

Ramona


	2. Old Journal Entry

(An excerpt from a soggy, waterlogged diary.)

Daddy's still not back. I'm not sure what happened to him, but Mr. Pershing next door says him and Daddy's other friends were laid off. Mr. Pershing's a fisherman, so he has steady work and doesn't have to be worried, but that's why I'm concerned for Daddy. I'm afraid he worried too much, worried too much over Mommy and me, and went to Kaldwin's Bridge taking his worries with him, where the rumors say people don't come back from. 

Daddy hasn't come home for five weeks. I'm worried. The bread is running out, and Mommy's crying, so I feel very afraid Daddy went to that bridge.


	3. Instructions from Dacia

John,

You know I can't do it. You know. I gave birth to her after all, witnessed her come out of my womb covered in blood and slime. I can't do it to her having been through that. I can't. 

I just can't.

So take this hemlock essence and Rosie down to the sewers with some brined hagfish and grapes, and spike the fish. Let her enjoy the grapes first, but don't linger long because she's sick, and I don't want to lose you too. 

Please. Do it so we can at least bury our little girl instead of having her body thrown in the river.

Dacia


	4. Notice to Lord Leswill

Lord Leswill,

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we couldn't save anything. Your mansion was the first on the waterfront; when the river finally broke yours was the first to go. Most of your valuables had been looted by gangs or opportunist paupers by the time we made it, and it was all of too late when we did. Your residence has been destroyed, along with, as you informed us to get, your traditional Morleyan paintings. Twenty seven of the thirty four paintings were destroyed, the rest were looted or lost.   
We're sorry once again. 

Also, your numerous safes were robbed and the contents inside missing. All but one had been forcibly opened, so make of what you will of the safe that was not.

We will not be sending anyone else to investigate your situation or search for your missing valuables. 

City Watch Office


	5. Gristolian Thievery

(An excerpt from a book on Gristol's most famous thieves.)

Bluehand Jane has always been a controversial figure in modern Gristolian history, as scholars tend to disagree on the societal impact she has as a prominent female thief. Some say she and her harem of womanly thieves have a negative impact on the standards for young girls everywhere, while others remark she has encouraged women to rebel against ensnaring social pressures and gain independence and autonomy in their own spheres. An example of proof for the former's argument has been the increased number of women across Gristol convicted of stealing from their husbands and male employers, although Bluehand Jane's prominence cannot be deduced as the sole cause for this phenomenon due to a myriad of other factors.

An interesting element of the debate of on Bluehand Jane's influence on women is what women see her as an admirable figure and who don't. Most middle and lower-class women, when surveyed, have admitted to admiring her and admiring her escapades, while women of status often view her with a sense of extreme disgust.


	6. From Lord Ellington

Loulia,

I heard what happened. That's terrible. You should have never had to witness such a thing with your delicate eyes.

While I'm unsure if Lord Estermont left anything for you after his unfortunate death, be sure that I'll do what I can for you to find you work. I doubt he's left anything for you since you're his clerk, but if the unsurprising inevitable comes, take this and go back home until I can find you something. I promise, I'll find you work, though what I might turn up with the plague going around may not be good. 

It'll be something at least. 

I'm sorry if I can't do better.

Your friend,  
Lord Ellington


	7. The Boyle Party

(Excerpt from an old journal.) 

_15th day, Month of Nets_  
I heard what happened at the Boyle's party. It's terrible, I know, but I think they all deserved their fate. The people killed there that night...they deserved to die like that. To die in their wealth, to die reminded they aren't invincible and aren't above the rest of us common folk. I had my whole family, cousins and nieces included, taken by the plague, so I'm glad their bodies were left to the rats. I'm glad.


	8. Letter to Mae

Mae,

Take this and run. Run as far as your legs can carry you to the docks, where you should throw yourself on the first ship to Morley, Tyvia or Pandyssia of all places. Just anywhere but here, because it's clear that we'll never be happy together in Dunwall, and unfortunately, in all of Gristol. 

Just do it. Do what I say. Don't stop, just run until you can see the sunrise through the tears I know you'll cry over me. It's too late for me now anyway, so please. Just go, while they're busy dealing with me. While you can still get away. They won't search for you, so don't waste time trying to hide. Just get away from here.

Remember that I love you as you're moving away from here. Remember I always will. Remember that as the sun kisses your cheeks while you're sailing the waters to someplace far beyond here. I'm sorry we can't be together now, I'm so sorry, so try to find solace and comfort in the idea that maybe death has a place for us together. That's all I can offer you now.

Amity


	9. Flooded Letter

(An excerpt from a recovered letter from the Flooded District.)

I can't stand their moans. I can't stand their pain. I watch them every day from my rotting windowsill until I become sick with hunger and have to sleep to ignore it. It's too painful. Too painful. They were my friends once, my friends you see, and now they've all fallen victim to this terrible city and this terrible plague and I wish I could have done something to stop it. I wish I could have.

I wish I could have done something.


	10. Note to Lexi

Lexi,

I know it's all you got, but I have to stop selling for processed whale oil. I know your daddy was in that business, but Slackjaw says the stuff is riskier to sell on the black market than anything else nowadays. Some of his men, my good friends too, have died because of this whale oil ban, since the City Watch is cracking down harder than ever before. Black markets aren't what they used to be babe, sorry.

So, either pawn it yourself or trade it for something I can exchange for. If it's good cider, I promise I'll slip you double what you paid for.

Gerold


	11. Extravagant Journal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off the shrine found in the Lady Boyle's Last Party mission.

                                   

 

_12th day, Month of Nets_  
A rat moved in today. I think two, but I'm not sure. Why won't the doorman just shoo it off already? Kill it? I don't want to get plague on my boots, the madman. Making me do everything. Disgusting.

_24th day, Month of Rain_  
The other nobles in the complex are complaining about the rats too. Lord Canbire said one bit him today, and just when he did, the City Watch dragged him off screaming. After, they then broke in like the common men they are and stole everything he owned. Ten or so, just as everyone watched! By the Void, I'll report those ilk to someone in charge. Uncultured vermin.

_27th day, Month of Rain_  
Waiting for my complaint to go through. The officer I handed my ticket to said it should be a few days. I hope something gets done.

_28th day, Month of Rain_  
I found something left over by the brutes who trashed Canbire's place. Looks old, and made of bone. Two of them actually, one looks bigger than the other.

_2nd day, Month of Darkness_  
Duchess Isabelle was bitten today. They quarantined her place, and ransacked her stuff too. Just like Canbire. Her husband was eaten by rats in the madness, as he tried to stave off the guards from her valuables, but thankfully two of them succumbed as well. I haven't heard anything back from the City Watch about Canbire unfortunately, and they're telling me to leave the building.

_4th day, Month of High Cold_  
I was bitten today, by not one, but two rats, but I can't tell anyone. I can't leave. I won't. What I found in Canbire's place is too enticing. It's the only thing I have now, now that everyone in the building has been taken away. It whispers to me at night. Sweetly.

_16th day, Month of Ice_  
I'm sick. Sick sick sick sick, I'm coughing, and have a fever, but I must hide it. I must. Everything is so dreary and terrible now, dreary and terrible, but I must hide. I must. It speaks to me, the rune, the charm, the rune, the charm, so I must. I must keep it safe. I must.

_1st_ _day_ , _Month_ _of_ _Seeds_  
I made a shrine. To the thing that speaks to me in my dreams. My only escape now. I don't know why. They're holing up sick people in this building now too. Nobles, like me, but fortunately it doesn't matter. I'll die listening to these sweet songs, which are all I have now. All I have.

_2nd day, Month of Seeds_  
One of the less sick ones said Lady Boyle's having a party soon. I don't care anymore. I couldn't have gone anyway. 


	12. Request from Max

Donatello,

If you have the extra time, please try to investigate the thefts that occurred at Boyle Manor several days ago. 

Although it has been properly concluded that the masked man at Lady Boyle's party was responsible for the theft of most of the Boyles' valuables, an alarming rise in jewelry thefts in the surrounding areas have been reported that seem to have no correlation to the thefts of the masked man.

Now, whether or not this is the work of Bluehand Jane is what I, and other City Watch officers are investigating, but I could always use the manpower. She's a tough cookie.

Max

P.S. There's also been a rise in reports of "dark intimidating figures" wearing whaling masks in the same area. It may very well be Daud and his Whaler Gang, so investigate to see if Bluehand Jane has any correlation or connection to them.


	13. On Morleyan Tall Tales and Legends

(An excerpt from a book on old Morley legends.)

Ah, but the beautiful Princess Kaidence is certainly an odd spot in Morley's repertoire of tales, since her existence is a fact argued about among even the most well-read of intellectuals. Almost all of the figures in Morleyan legend have been proven to be nothing more than just that—legend, but Princess Kaidence remains a hot topic for many, even in this modern day.

Many scholars dispute that such a figure ever existed, while others argue it is too obvious her existence is one of many in a long line of Morley's most famed, even if the stories about her may be greatly exaggerated. There is proof of the latter group's claims as texts documenting Princess Kaidence's existence have been recently discovered in old cities across Morley, but the former have since launched investigations into the authenticity of said documents. 

Regardless, the legend goes that the mystical Princess Kaidence was born to lowly parents, and slaved away in the orchards of Morley until one day, she broke a spell that had turned a prince into a whale by dumping apples into the river. As payment for her feat, the prince married her, but before he could succeed the throne, the princess turned him into a hagfish and ate him with cream and custard. 

Certainly a gross end, but the princess was apparently driven to such measures by her husband being a wretched, evil man, which was why he was turned into a whale in the first place. The legends even go onto say that after she succeeded her husband, Princess Kaidence was driven to insanity and apparently became a witch while in power, sanctioning, for a brief period in Morley's history, witchcraft as a legal and viable practice among her subjects.


	14. Notice to Overseers

To my fellow Overseer brothers,

I understand all of your concerns. I do. Please do not slander my name over this decision, calling me a heretic, or likewise, just because this is not something we'd do under normal circumstances. 

You all know the situation. We are short good men, because of the plague, because of the masked assassin running around, because of too many other reasons to list. Therefore, we must indoctrinate a woman into our ranks, to fill the space normally taken by faithful men, of which we are woefully short.

It is something we must do. Please, do not believe this to be a permanent solution or a feature that here to stay, as we all know women are more vulnerable to the Outsider and other dark forces than men are, so they will particularly stressed by the work of an Overseer. But, regardless, it will be something you will see starting tomorrow, as our newest Overseer, Enid Morshadow, will be docking at our division and reporting for duty for the very first time. Please, treat her well, and like one of your fellow brothers. She is wholly devout, has taken a vow of celibacy, and actually volunteered for the job after she demonstrated her loyalty by confiscating and destroying several heretic artifacts on her own. We haven't had time to conduct any Trials of Aptitude, so we are grateful for her service in these times of need.

Overseer Albus


	15. The Potential of Bootleg Elixir

(An excerpt from a scientific paper on bootleg elixir operations.)

It is an incredibly ignorant statement to say that bootleg elixir operations are harmful, or that they even promote the spread of plague. Although the data is scattered, the evidence suggests the plague does not need to be warded off with "pure" elixir, but rather can be fought off with more distilled version, up to a seventh the concentration of ingredients in Sokolov's formula. The mechanism behind the phenomenon is unknown, but perhaps it is because Sokolov uses such pure and high potency ingredients, giving the human body a substantial plague defense with only a few portions.

In fact, I am excited to begin testing whether the remains of the concentrated formula are excreted from the human body via urination, versus watered-down formula from bootleg stills. If my hypothesis proves true, perhaps the bootleg stills can operate with some legality, if not lenience, in the city, and perhaps Sokolov can make his elixirs more affordable to the poorest citizens. After all, they are the ones disproportionately affected by the plague.


	16. Guide to River Krust Pearls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tfw u look up actual chemistry to write a dishonored fic.

(An excerpt from a book on river krust pearls.)

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the stones from the krust's insides is that they are not immune from the organism's own acidic projectiles. Though the pearls are covered in a thick, slimy mucus, slowly over time they are consumed by the spit the krust produces for its own protection. This is the biologist's most satisfactory reason for the extreme rarity of large pearls, which krusts are more than capable of producing, and the reason behind why a substantial number of krusts seem to produce no pearls at all. One can also only guess, with this information, that this is why the krust produces pearls at all despite the shell's airtight nature. Most likely, it is to provide a buffer, in addition to its own mucus, from its own deadly spit, which brings up compelling natural philosphy questions—but that's for another time.

Another related and noteworthy point on this topic is that in the lab, when the pearls are forced to dissolve without the protection of the mucus, a strange substance forms in the process. The substance formed from the reaction is a strange white powder, which in the end turned out to be useless bar it being an extremely lethal and potent poison. Some within the scientific community have said however a mysterious, light-sensitive metal can be extracted from the powder using certain methods, so perhaps this substance may hold some use after all.


	17. Letter to Lady Camella

Lady Camella,

Honestly, it's such a shame you had to miss the Boyle party, especially for those abominable little bitches you have to call nieces in Morley. Though it was quite a scare to have Waverly disappear mid-event, I'd have to say you should have been there just for the spectacle with Lord Shaw. Apparently, the gentlemen acting in Trevor Pendleton's favor didn't kill him in the duel they had ike he was supposed to, but shot him with a sleep dart instead. Which is weird, but the guards threw Lord Shaw into the trash can anyway, only for him to wake up five minutes after the party screaming his head off and threatening to fire the nearest City Watch officier he saw! Ha, what a show it was, I haven't heard the man curse so much since his maid brought him white wine instead of red at your gala last year. The man was a riot Camella, you really should have been here.

Lady Silvia


	18. Reminder to Monroe

Oliver,

I dunno. I don't wanna be the guy who has to tell Slackjaw—I mean, who the fuck would? Guy doesn't have a temper but you still never know. I'd rather eat river krust than tell him Bunting's safe was picked clean, most likely by the guy who gave him the combination in the first place. After all, Slackjaw's been going at it for months.

Monroe

P.S. If it's possible, see if we can blame Ezio. Guy owes me money, and I heard he owes Erik and Clint too. Since he hasn't paid anyone for months, maybe they'll back up our lie.


	19. Tyvian Wildlife and Fauna

(An excerpt from an almanac on Tyvian fauna.)

The jacguire is a perculiar creature native only to the harsh climate of Tvyia, nary found elsewhere throughout the Isles. It is easily recognizable by its various coats, ranging from snow-white to a spotted, slightly darker hue, and its extremely unusual features, which include large whiskers, retractable claws, a domed head, short muzzle, and a dry, sandpaper-textured tongue. 

An interesting fact about the jacguire is that its coat is dependent on the location wherein it lives, as the creature is well-adapted to its surroundings. So much so that it can change its fur color at whim within a few seconds, which almost always is for camouflage, although some evidence suggests the jacguire may change its fur color for mating rituals.


	20. Unknown Handwritten Note

I'm not afraid of the masked assassin. I'm not afraid of him at all, even though the City Watch has a high bounty on his head and the Abbey talk of him being possessed by the Outsider.

Because Daddy's an Overseer. When mum and I heard the masked assassin branded Mr. Campbell, she was so afraid the masked assassin killed Daddy to get there, but we where overjoyed when he came home. In fact, other people in the building involved with the Abbey had the same fear, but everyone's daddies came home safe and sound. 

So I'm not scared of the masked assassin. I don't think he'd kill me, not if he'd let Daddy come home.


	21. Alcohol Throughout the Empire

(An excerpt from a essay detailing alcoholic beverages throughout the Isles.) 

King Street Brandy: a certain, rare drink throughout the Isles enjoyed wherever cultured people are present. Although it contains Morley orchids, the parts of certain spices found on the continent of Pandyssia are present in the drink as well, along with a trace of whale fat. Grades of the beverage depend on the ratio of Pandyssian spices to Morley orchids, along with the purity of the whale fat mixed in and quality of other mentioned ingredients. 

Surprisingly, it is one of the few alcoholic drinks that does not age well, which is most likely because of the fat mixed in, which can go rancid and give the liquor a bitter taste after several weeks of air exposure. 

Sapphire Sea Wine: An unusual drink consumed in Morley and Serkonos, that is extremely rare elsewhere. Considered a symbol of opulence where common, the drink is a dark blue color and somewhat salty in taste, with a hint of chalk halfway through the bottle.

Some say Sapphire Sea Wine sparkles like the stars when poured, and as such the wine is sometimes made for decorative uses by artists and other nobles. Morleyan and Serkonian nobility alike have basked in the ambient light of this dark blue drink for centuries.

Now the taste of the wine comes not from the grapes used in its production, but the other ingredients present. The wine is one-eighth purified seawater, along with powdered river krust pearls, which react quite bizarrely with the ingredients present. The pearls are what contruibuites to the high price of the drink, but regardless of this, it is enjoyed by a wide population of people of Morley and Serkonos.


	22. Dr. Galvani's Notes on the Rat Plague

(An excerpt from a draft of a paper by Dr. Galvani.)

Lack of information on the plague prior to its introduction in Dunwall is perhaps the most lethal element of this disease, other than the rats who spread it. Limited information on it has been found in ancient texts and literature throughout Morley and Serkonos, but little useful information has been gleaned from any of these sources. Morley especially, that was the high hope the late Empress had, she thought with Morley's sizeable rat population there was at least some information to be found. 

Unusually though, there is absolutely no mention of the rat plague in any of the lore or literature belonging to Tyvia. In fact, there seems to be little mention of any rats whatsoever there, so little so that some say the cold climate strips the country and streets so clean of vermin you could lick a stray brick and not catch anything. That's not a metaphor I'm willing to test, but that it,s an odd situation there indeed. I bet the large jacguire population there helps prevent the disease too.


	23. To Emory

Emory,

I expected you to know better than this. I had already warned someone about this, yet here you are explicitly ignoring what I said. So, for the last time, I'll say it again. 

Stop sending Alphonse on interrogation missions. Younger whalers shouldn't even be considered for that job, much less terrible liars like him. Yes, I know, no one likes interrogation, but for the love of the Outsider, send a better replacement if you don't want to go. Someone here has to not hate the job.

Don't fuck up again,  
Daud


	24. Bone Charm Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refers to a bone charm found in the beginning of the Flooded District.

                                   

I didn't know it could be so sad. When I was out at sea, my charm spoke so sweetly to me and spoke ever so kindly of the great levithans hiding beneath the azure waves. It spoke in epics of the sea's nebulous secrets, of its beautiful monstrosities and lives it claimed and of the realm far beyond which it paralelled only in a finite sense. The charm—it used to be so happy.

But that's long gone now. Now it sings only of hushed river krusts silenced by guns and of stagnant river waters tainted with trails of oily moonlight, while speaking only of the misery of the unfortunate sick in this flooded place. Sometimes it even tells me the stories of the uncountable beings slaughtered in this place, both humans and monsters alike.

It longs for the sea again. I can tell. I can tell.

It's not getting desparate to return, but I am.


End file.
